This station at 18 Shelton Road (Route110) serves as the headquarters of the Monroe Volunteer Fire Department.The first floor features 6 apparatus bays, offices, a communications room,members' room, and storage areas. The second floor consists of a meeting hall, kitchen, and the chief's office. Currently it houses Engine/Rescue203, Engine/Tanker 205, Utility 214, Squad 230, and Chief Car 251.

Station 1 History

The department was founded in 1923 but for its first 25 years, it occupied two different small buildings near the town green. One was the former carriage house of St. Peter's Church.As more trucks were added to the fleet, more space was needed.

In 1947, the cornerstone was laid for the Route 110 fire station at 18Shelton Road. The land was bought from Mrs. Hurd (Hurd Ave. runs along one side of the fire station). Much of the money to buy the land came from the annual carnival and the building was mortgaged for around $5,000. The location was picked because it was centrally located (at this point, the other only fire station in town was Stepney Station 1 on lower Main St),it had ample parking, room for expansion, and room to host social events and fund raisers. Many of the volunteers themselves helped to construct the building and it was completed quite quickly by 1948. Given it was just after WWII, there were a lot of material and labor shortages.The Fire Chief at the time was Ray Michel and the Fire Company President was Andrew Bardugone. William Renz led the building committee. In five years, the mortgage was paid off using proceeds from fund raisers.

The original building was a two-story, 3 bay, 40x70 ft building. The upstairs featured a meeting hall and a kitchen was located on the ground floor.At the time, the building was praised as being as one of the finest firehouses in Connecticut. There was a dedication ceremony and open house in 1948,at which time the original charter members that founded the fire department were presented with their 25-year life membership badges. That tradition still continues today.

By the 1960's an addition was necessary because several fire trucks had to be parked outside. In the winter months, the trucks carrying water would have to be drained so the water didn't freeze. That meant that before getting to a fire, the trucks would have to stop and fill up their water tanks. At that time, there were very few hydrants in town, so the trucks had to head to ponds and draft water into their tanks.

By 1965, Station 1 took its modern day shape by adding on 3 additional apparatus bays to the existing 3 bays. Today, the outside and layout of the building remains essentially the same with the exception that the upstairs hall was renovated in the early 1990s, and the building and grounds received some upgrades in 1998, in preparation for the 75th anniversary parade and celebration. In 2011, some interior renovations were made to the members' room and kitchen.

This station at 54 Jockey Hollow Road features 6 bays (3 front facing and 3 rear facing), an office/members' room, a training room, kitchen, and engineers' room. Currently it houses Quint 200, Squad 231, and Engine 202. The remainder of the station is occupied by Monroe EMS.

Station 2 History

A formal proposal for a second fire station in the Monroe district was first presented by the Fire Department to the Town of Monroe in 1969. Although everyone seemed to agree that a second station was necessary to serve the growing population and nearby school campus, agreeing on a site would prove to be very problematic. Based on the recommendation from an insurance rating agency, the new station would need to be located near Fan Hill Road and Jockey Hollow Road. The Department received support from the community by showing that many fire calls were received from this area, and that Fawn Hollow School and Chalk Hill School would receive improved protection,including improved response times and a new fire hydrant.

By 1980, the Department, led by President Al Michel, narrowed the selection of potential sites to four. The primary choice was town owned property on Fan Hill Rd adjacent to the Fawn Hollow School Playground. The other three sites were two on Jockey Hollow Rd and one on Chalk Hill Rd. Volunteer firefighters cleared much of the wooded area to build the station and helped with many aspects of the construction. In 1983, the station was completed at 54 Jockey Hollow Road and was paid for by the Town of Monroe. A dedication ceremony and open house was held, featuring music by the Chalk Hill School band.

An addition was built in 2001 to add bedrooms to accommodate Monroe EMS.Since then, the building has been a shared facility between the fire department and EMS